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H2O: pump suggestions and ideas

Ok, I have a dual PII-333 that gets extrememly hot. There are also many drives (both IDE and SCSI) in the case, but the processors are the main culprit to heat, I believe. I'll cool the drives later. We replace the fans on the CPU heatsinks about every four to five months.

I've got a general idea for the layout of the system, but I'm afraid of a pump going bad. I bought a cheapie for my first watercooling project (70-180gph @ $29) and so far it hasn't skipped a beat. However, in the summer these systems will be at the camp I work at. If a pump were to go out, the system would be down for at least a week until we could get into town to buy another.

Does anyone have a favorite brand or model? The flow rates I'll need for the radiator I'm getting will need to be around 2-3gpm (120-180gph) for optimal dissipation.

My other concern is having a single pump push the coolant across two blocks. Either I could make two separate pumps pump to two separate blocks (twice the tubing in the case), or make both blocks in the same loop.

Would it hurt to have two pumps "pump in line?" IE: have one pump "pushing" before the blocks and another pump of the same rate "pulling" after the blocks. That way, if one pump fails, the other can pick up the slack and keep the system running. Not good?

Ehelm also makes a 1060 pump that runs about 600GPH, but they run about $135. They also have a 1048 that put out just over 150GPH for $65.

You might really think about upgrading. You could drop in a new motherboard, memory and CPU that would blow away the performance of your rig and would be much easier to cool. Heck even a cheap Duron 900 would probably perform better. You can get DDR, motherboard and CPU for under $200 and be around 900-1000Mhz. This is likely less than you are going to pay to cool a dual CPU system. An extra $100 will drive you into the 1-4-1.5Ghz range. If you need lots of memory, you might need to spend a bit more (512MB PC2100 DDR is running about $110-120).

You could also cut a pair of blowholes in the side and one in the top to fit soem nice 120mm fans (or at least 92mm). Add some chrome fan grills for looks. Something liek this will run you about $30-40, but a bit noisier. You can get the parts here:http://www.bestbyte.net/Category.cfm...yID=8&Keyword=

They also have really good prices on 80mm fans ($3) and window kits for $12 and lots of mod parts and lighting for resonable prices.

You know, I've seen some damn long descriptions of where people live, and I was just wondering how freakin' long of a location they actually allow you to write in here. Looks like it's quite a bit. Oh well, if the space is here I'll use it!!! :)

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2,330

Agreed. Why spend the money cooling an outdated system when the same money can upgrade the system to a faster, cooler stock setup?

------------------Only 30,000 to 40,000 genes in an Einstein, a Michael Jordan, or a Bach? Boy, can that God guy write tight code or what? - David Rudloff

IMO, Mr. Derek Smart is a hypocrite: Only someone who is either (a) lying (b) ashamed of their products (c) just plain ashamed, would hestitate to give out some simple and straight forward information. - Derek Smart, Ph.D.

When I ordered some window kits and fans, I think they only charged me about $6. They also shipped pretty fast.

I also found this out today and copied it from another post of mine for you:

"Well I was looking around for pumps and I found a one that might work. I found it on Petsmarts web site. It is called Supreme Mag Drive Pump Model 2 and is rated for 250 gph. It also can be used submurged or in line and it says it only has one moving part and is completely sealed. The best thing is it is only $35 and I have a Petsmart about 20 miles away. They also had a submurgable oly pump rated for 140 gph for only $21. I'm temped to try the smalled one for now. That way I can test the system andf get it up and running much sooner (possibly this or next weekend).http://www.petsmart.com/fish/shoppin...ct%5F770.shtml

I have this pump running my own system right now. http://www.petsmart.com/fish/shoppin...ct%5F691.shtml
It's a cheapie, like I said, but I can't hear it. It is submerged in a sealed 4x4x4 electrical box. I don't know about the Mag Drive pumps, but they do look promising. And cheaper too!

I won't be getting a pump anytime soon; I have yet to craft the blocks. It'll probably be March or April before I'm done with them. If you end up getting one those, let me know how you like it. They're on my pricelist for the guy right now.